Extra Credit Blog

        The school year is flying by, i can’t believe that we are almost half way through but we have so much time left till the end of the year. There is much more to learn and do in class, but time has it’s way to interfere and make it seem like it was just yesterday that we were all walking into the class room for the first time. Now getting back to the blog, I guess that I would have to say that these diction and twist assignments are the “most important skill or concept” that I have learned. I hadn’t herd of DIDLE or TWIST before they were introduced in class, i barley herd the word diction in middle school. My language teachers never brought up this subject class and even if they did it was only for a brief moment. The “diddle” and “twist” are interesting ways to annotate pieces of writing.
        I have learned that for me twist is easier to understand, it’s less complicated to remember what each letter stands for. I have learned that just marking a writing piece in random places and looking for the simple things to annotate isn’t enough. If you are annotating it, might as well go all the way. This is important because it breaks down the poem or passage, etc. in a way that breaks it down and the reader can understand what is going on better. This may seem like a middle school thing to some people but it’s really new to me and I still have troubles decoding some of the letters. One of the things I have trouble with is the first T, tone. I look at the tone words that we got in class but sometimes I don’t see one that would fit but other people can spot them, if that makes sense. I also have trouble with the second T, theme. I always have a hard time finding out the tone in more difficult pieces. I don’t know why but it just doesn’t come to me as it would to others. Anyway, as time progresses and I practice it, it will get more and more useful.

"Lobsters"

         The idea that triggered in my mind during the discussion was the thought of how the author was, in a way, relating the lobsters to people. I have never thought about it that way. I can’t remember who brought it up, what topic we were on, or about when in the discussion it was brought up but i do remember that it stuck in my mind. The idea- Lobsters, they are being related to humans. Humans are lazy and slow, and just “meant to die”. “Who may choose whichever one he wants To carry home and drop into boiling water And serve with a sauce of melted butter.” This makes me think that we are just picked and chosen at anytime to die. We don’t have a say when or where it happens, it just does. Something else was said that compared us to them but i forget what it is, unfortunately :/
          As a result, truly, the poem didn’t change much for me. I didn’t get a whole new perspective as some other people might. It just gave me something new to think about and interpret into my own thoughts. Sure I got some new ideas, and some new information but nothing too special. At the beginning of the poem, i didn’t understand what the point of it was. Yea, lobsters in a tank, their colors, and then us eating them. I didn’t understand the main meaning of the poem until i sat in the discussion and listened to everyone’s ideas. It really helped me get the ideas and... I don’t know how to describe it, I got “Lobsters” a lot easier. 

Five part paragraphs

          To write a good paper you need to include many things. You have to be organized, if you write things in different orders and mix up the points it makes it hard for people to follow. A good paper should include: topic sentence, hook (optional), at least three points, transitions and a conclusion. Also depending on what type of paper your writing you also need to include concrete details and commentary. The paper should be interesting and intriguing. I know that most people don’t like to listen to papers about boring things. They just lose their interest and think about other things instead of your writing piece. Vocabulary and grammar also play a part in this. I know that I like to listen to papers with big, exciting, and powerful words. It gives me something to think about like what it means and why the author choice the words. For example; A boring sentence: The cat laid on the mat. A interesting sentence: The cat gracefully walked onto the mat and stretched as far as he could so the sun beams would dance on his belly. I personally like the second sentence better than the first. A good paper requires time, patience, and quality work. Working on the paper for two minutes and scribbling your ideas on a piece of paper is not quality work.

          I know that I have a lot to work on. I need to improve on making sure that my writing makes sense to others. Sometimes I’ll understand what I’m trying to explain but it is almost impossible for other people to understand it. I need to have a better/ larger vocabulary. When I was reading my paragraph I got embarrassed because I forgot how it was written and how I put things together. I need to follow the paper more carefully, my commentary and concrete details were in the wrong order, which isn’t good. For the next 5 point paragraph I’m really going to make sure that it is all in order. I don’t want a repeat of what happened earlier today. My skills are always open for improvement so I’m open to new ideas and different styles.

          I think that the weakness in the classroom would have to be the concrete details. Everyone had a different opinion concluding if it fit with their topic sentence or not. I think that people need to improve on bringing out their own writing styles/ their voice in their writing. I know that we have to follow a paper telling us what needs to be in it but I also know that a lot of the papers were all the same. It was about prejudice, Scout, innocence and etc. There were many topics to choose and I believe that most people stayed in their comfort zone and didn’t step out of the box when it came to choose what to write about. Of course not everyone did that but this is what I felt when listening to the papers.